>>Blackstone, who compiled the English Common Law
But this ain’t England. Some folks seem to have forgotten that.
Jefferson’s words speak for themselves; Jefferson was a founder.
This can be serious debate. The Common Law was not about Jefferson’s comments.
That this is a Christian nation and the common law is founded on firm Christian principles and much of its formed the basis of public law of many state statutes cannot be denied by serious scholars.
Here’s a small sampling:
THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
HOLY TRINITY CHURCH v. U.S.
143 U.S. 457, 12 S.Ct. 511, 36 L.Ed. 226
February 29, 1892
Here’s a quote from the case after extensive review of the issue.
“These and many other matters which might be noticed, add a volume of unofficial declarations to the mass of organic utterances that this is a Christian nation.”
Other examples:
The Mayflower Compact (1620), precursor to the Declaration of Independence and US Constitution, proclaimed that the first permanent English-speaking settlement in the Americas was intended for the “advancement of the Christian faith.”
In a message to his troops (1778), George Washington observed: “To the distinguished character of Patriot, it should be our highest Glory to laud the more distinguished character of Christian.”
The first Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, John Jay, wrote in 1816 that it was in the interests of “our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers.”
As late as 1931, the Supreme Court observed in U.S. v. Macintosh, “We are a Christian people.”
Woodrow Wilson told a campaign rally in 1911, “America was born a Christian nation. America was born to exemplify that devotion to the elements of righteousness which are derived from the revelations of Holy Scripture.”
In a 1947 letter, President Harry Truman (who was instrumental in the establishment of the state of Israel) assured Pope Pius XII, “This is a Christian nation.”
Even William O. Douglas, that most liberal justice of the liberal Warren Court, was forced to admit that Americans are “a religious people whose institutions presuppose a Supreme Being.”
Here are some helpful URLs:
The Foundations of The English Common Law
http://liberty-virtue-independence.blogspot.com/2008/12/foundation-of-english-common-law.html
How The Catholic Church Built Western Civilization